


Beauty in Simplicity

by UmiHinode



Series: The Story is Eternal [17]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 09:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmiHinode/pseuds/UmiHinode
Summary: "What is love, to someone who isn't human?"





	Beauty in Simplicity

If you asked Celty Sturluson when exactly she had fallen in love, she wouldn't be able to give you a clear answer.

Her feelings were a puzzle, still slowly piecing together with each moment, each touch, each emotion that she experienced now, and that she could reflect on from the past. If there was one thing she could answer, at the very least, that would be whether she loved Shinra. Whereas she would have denied it before, the answer was now a definitive yes. That certainty didn't make life any less strange for her, though fortunately, Shinra caught onto this quickly.

"What is love," he asked her one day. "to someone who isn't human?"

Naturally, Celty hadn't been able to give him a straight answer. [What is love, period?] She replied instead.

Shinra laughed. "Are you asking for my opinion as a man of science, or as a man hopelessly in love with you?"

Somewhere inside her inconceivable being Celty rolled her nonexistent eyes and nudged him halfheartedly. While Shinra feigned being in pain, Celty typed her response. [I want _your_ answer.]

Leaning in closer, his hair beginning to brush against her helmet, Shinra said, "Well, Celty, to answer that, I'll have to take you back to a fateful, chilly night in Ireland, twenty-one years ago…"

Celty practically shoved her phone in his face. [Shinra...]

"What?"

[Your answer doesn't have to be about me. What do you think of love in general?]

Shinra sighed dramatically. "How can I give an answer that's not about you?"

Needless to say, the question remained unanswered.

It haunted Celty, almost, following their conversation. _What does it truly mean to be in love?_ She asked herself for days and weeks on end. Really, it was silly to sit around wondering about it all the time. She could finally relax now that she knew the fate of her head, leaving her only present worries to be Kuzuhara and aliens - and whatever chaos would strike Ikebukuro tomorrow, of course.

"You're really bad with that, you know," Shinra commented, focus completely on the video game they were playing, thus was Celty's perspective.

_Bad with what?_ She wrote with her shadows, her hands occupied with a controller.

"Worrying," he replied, frowning as his character descended into the depths below, knocked off the edge like it was nothing by none other than Celty.

_Nothing's worrying me._

Shinra's character respawned and went in for an immediate, ruthless attack. He appeared to be putting all of his might into button smashing, whereas Celty's playstyle was more rhythmic, calm, and focused.

Calm and focused, though she soon found herself flying up into the air and into the distance.

"Maybe 'worry' isn't the right word." Shinra turned to face her as the victory screen appeared, taking her hands into his. "But you're thinking about something."

Describing herself using human terminology was a bad habit Celty had yet to break, though it wasn't as if there was a handbook out there somewhere about the experiences of a dullahan. Whereas some things were felt in her physical body, others she experienced through her shadows. This moment, as Shinra held her hands, looking her in the eye with a kindness and concern he could never even think to give anyone else, was something felt within those shadows. It was inexplicable, and yet, something about it felt right. Was this what Shinra felt stirring inside of him, she wondered?

[I know you won't believe me when I say this, but it's nothing. Really. I'm just curious.]

Sighing, Shinra conceded. "If you say so."

With what she imagined felt like a smile, Celty freed her hands for just a moment to remove her helmet before resting against his shoulder. Shinra's hand found hers once more, and with her free one, she wrote, [I just want to sit here with you.]

"I won't complain."

Maybe love didn't have to be some strange, overcomplicated concept. Maybe it didn't matter how she experienced it, or how Shinra did. After all, all she had ever wanted was life within their cozy apartment near Kawagoe Highway, together with Shinra.

Whatever mess Ikebukuro threw at her the next day, she'd be able to face it, as long as she had him by her side.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't expecting to update so soon, but here I am! This was actually a request from a mutual on Twitter and not an intended part of TSIE, but it actually serves as a really good segue into the next (planned) chapter (despite taking place years prior on the timeline, but hey)! I don't know when that will be out as I'm trying to prioritize school and my other projects, but hopefully it'll be out soon (probably around October-November?)
> 
> I announced this on one of my other fics a while back, but I thought I'd announce it again here for good measure: I am one of the writers for the Durarara fanzine Urban Legend! If you'd like to support me and the rest of the team, be sure to check out the zine's Twitter (DurararaZine) and Tumblr (durararazine) accounts. Preorders are set to open in October, so mark your calendars!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
